So rather than looking for jobs that are not there in the first place, many people have turned their residence to their offices offering all sorts of services to their huge number of clients.

Work from home mistakes you should avoid

Work-from-home jobs have been particularly made easier with the help of modern technology.Now with smartphones and laptops, you can be your own boss right from your living room, kitchen or even garage.

However, even with all the needed technology in place, your work-from-home experience will still take discipline to materialise.

#1). Forgetting or failing to set boundaries

Failing to set boundaries is one of the most common mistakes people that work from home usually make as they can’t differentiate between working hours and playing hours while at home.

You should always remember that because you are working from home doesn’t really give you the freedom to confusedly mix your working hours with other activities.

It’s important to ensure friends, family, and neighbours know that just because you are at home doesn’t mean you have got time on your hands. You can’t be held responsible for all household maintenance just because you’re in the house.

#2). Over working, working too much

Most of the people that are working from home have been known to work for more hours compare to their counterparts that are working in the office. This can probably be attributed to the fact that working from home offers greater working hours flexibility and freedom.

As much as working from home is a great way to make money, one still must be able to try to create time for a break just like in normal office settings. Create time to truly disconnect away from your engagement for refreshments or other activities because if you’re not being careful, you can find yourself working 24 hours daily for seven days none stop.

#3). Absent on calls, inability to keep appointments

Even though your home is your office, you wouldn’t want to allow your clients to come to your home for a meeting like people do in a normal office setting. There is a possibility that an employer or client will trust you more when sees you in an office.

So, the fact that you are working from home doesn’t give you the freedom to miss calls and appointments. You should always make sure that you work towards keeping the trust between you and your clients. Remember that if something goes wrong, it can be much more of a problem in the client’s eyes than if something goes wrong in the office.

#4). Economising on family responsibilities such as childcare

Economising on parental responsibilities is one of major mistakes people that work from home are commonly making and if you are not being careful enough, it might lead you to loosing clients’ trust. Remember that just because you are at home doesn’t mean that you should be in charge of every parental responsibilities.

Try to distribute parental responsibilities, and if you have a toddler, get a babysitter to help you look after your toddler. Your clients would never be happy with you if your toddler interrupt during a conference or a phone call. That means your clients loosing faith in you. Always try to portray yourself at all times as professional, and be prepared to sacrifice your time between home/family responsibilities and your work.

#5). Procrastinating with housework

Working from home gives your freedom to work as well as to be involved in household responsibilities. But one thing is that you have to be extra careful so as not to turn your freedom or flexibility in work to a disaster. Don’t mix your working hours with other activities.

Just like working in a proper office setting, you should create a time table through which lines will be drawn what to do and when. Create time for your housekeeping, don’t throw the laundry in the dryer between calls, but be careful not to let distractions creep into time you planned to work.

Elechi Emekobum is into health & social care profession. She loves blogging, content writing, social media, branding, travelling, gadgets and health products. Check out her other articles on adeyemiadisa.com and Hotelsrepublic.com

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